Huge win for car owners! All TSBs to be made public.
The Center for Auto Safety just made the NHTSA (US Government) make public the full text of all TSBs from now on. They are the same organization that has petitioned the NHTSA & filed lawsuits to protect car owners over exploding gas tanks & other major safety issues.
Whenever you drive in your car, you are safer thanks in part to a lot of work over the years by this small but very effective consumer advocacy group.

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2003 Honda Pilot Owner Comments

Pilot EX-L

Automatic transmission

199,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

click to see larger images

Our Pilot has been regularly serviced by both the Honda dealership and other reputable businesses (for routine maintenance). However, after experiencing a loud rear end bang, we took it in for inspection, thinking maybe a broken spring. We were shocked when told that our entire rear axle was at risk of falling off - two of the four mounts had completely rusted through and were no longer attached to the main under body frame. When up on the hoist, the rear axle actually hung a few inches below the frame (see pics), only the front two mount (of the rear) were holding in place. Obviously, this was extremely dangerous and the vehicle can no longer be driven, even though the engine and vehicle as a whole are performing well.

We have owned the Pilot since day one, so it received good care. In discussion with the diagnosing mechanic, nothing this catastrophic had ever been seen before. However, there is a fair amount of blog conversation about severe under body rust on Honda vehicles. Some it seems to be due to improper A/C drain line placement.

If we hadn't experienced the noise warning, followed by a visual inspection that seemed to show the rear wheels tilted very slightly inward, we may not have taken the vehicle in promptly for full diagnosis of the problem. Our rear axle probably could have completely broken away while in transit!! That would have had disastrous results, probably significant injury, or even . . . . .

Of course, the Honda dealership advises there are "no technical bulletins" or recalls for this tragedy. A perfectly well running car is now nothing but scrap. We have long been pleased with the Honda performance, but this scenario taints our decision as to whether trust the product line again.

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